One year later, there is still no protocol for how the Iranian and US Navies communicate or how they respond to potential conflict. This lack of communication could easily lead to accidental military escalation with Iran.

Representatives John Conyers (D-MI) and Geoff Davis (R-KY) have introduced a bipartisan resolution calling on the Obama administration to negotiate an “Incidents at Sea” agreement, which would develop protocol to help avoid confrontation between the US and Iran. The US and the Soviet Union negotiated a similar agreement at the height of the Cold War, and it was this kind of common sense thinking that helped keep that war “cold.”

Because of your efforts, we were able to stop dangerous legislation last summer that essentially called for a naval blockade against Iran, an act of war. Now we have an opportunity to pressure Congress to take positive action that will make conflict far less likely and open the door for diplomacy.